"Have A Seat On The Curb," with Officer Ryan Tillman

​​In this episode of The BOLO Podcast, we're speaking with Ryan Tillman about repairing the image of the badge. Ryan has been an officer for four years and not only works in patrol, but is a member of his department's honor guard unit, recruitment team, and is a law enforcement explorer adviser.

Ryan started teaching teens about his negative experiences with law enforcement. He found his message was being received positively, and he felt he had the opportunity to make a difference. For this, he created his business, Breaking Barriers United, which exists to breaking down the barriers that exist between law enforcement and the community, and uniting them.

Also in this episode, we discuss an incident where an officer arrested a nurse for doing her job and following the hospital's protocol. There's a twist to the story which some of us did not know.

We answer some listener's questions and comments, and Tamrin and Mike are battling it out again for whose team has better fans.

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Show Take-Aways

Summary of the interview with Ryan Tillman:

Ryan has a business degree from the University of Laverne and studied marketing.

Breaking Barriers United was founded with the goal of breaking down barriers that exist between law enforcement and the community and uniting together.

His passion is to get the community to have an understanding of law enforcement.

Does a lot of community outreach with teenagers and churches.

Growing up Ryan didn't have the best experiences with police officers.

Ryan saw that people on the right and left side weren't doing anything to change perception and be proactive and decided to do something about it.

After Ferguson happened, Ryan's mother saw the personal side of law enforcement and her perspective changed.

Ryan grew up in a family that was neither pro law enforcement or against.

In Ryan's presentations, he gives the crowd insight to who he is in his everyday life, apologizes for law enforcement incidents where certain officers were at fault and talks about his bad experiences with officers growing up.

Ryan never had the desire to become a police officer until after his wife was pregnant with their first child.

He decided that he would put it in god's hands and if this was the profession he was supposed to be in, then things would work out.

Ryan realized that since he had a lot of the same views of law enforcement as the community, he could use that to do good for the community and help them have a better understanding of officers.

Whenever Ryan arrests someone, he knows that it is not his job to judge them and still treat them like people, while still upholding the law.

Ryan doesn't sacrifice his safety to accommodate someone's needs, but still treats people like people.

If you learn how to talk to people you will eliminate a majority of times when you need to use force.

He puts people in his shoes during his presentation and uses simulators of relations.

Ryan believes in hearing about negative experiences to better understand and have a more genuine experience with the community.

BBU has more presentations coming up with the Riverside Unified School District.

Make sure you are respectful and follow instruction of the officer during the time of the stop. If you still had a bad experience with an officer you can file a formal complaint.

Everyone must hold themselves accountable for their actions.

You can follow Ryan Tillman on Instagram @breaking_barriers_united and @t29a7

If you're out of the loop and don't know who Drake is, like Mike, click the link below:

Listener's questions:

"What is the best way to go about seeing which departments are female friendly?"

Bigger agencies have mentor liaisons for different people.

There are people who can mentor females and help them.

Do your research.

Google the agency you are applying with and find out if there are female officers you can speak with.

WLLE- Women Leaders in Law Enforcement is a conference in Monterray, CA.

How do you stick with your nutrition, workout plan, and balancing your time?:

Have accountability.

Find someone outside of your circle to keep you accountable.

A trainer can help to keep you in line and give you the extra motivation you need to stay on track.